Malta International Airport last year handled 2.92 million passengers, a drop of 6.1 percent compared to the previous year.

Company CEO Julian Jaeger said MIA expected growth of 2.8 per cent this year over the 2009 figures.

In December alone passenger numbers grew by 6.5 per cent compared to December 2008. Passenger numbers had also risen, albeit slightly, in October and November after having declined in the earlier months of 2009.

The CEO said at a press conference that seat capacity on the Malta routes last year was 4.2 million seats, a drop of 2.4 per cent cent when compared to the previous year.

The main markets last year remained the UK with 34.2 per cent of market share, Italy 17.1 per cent and Germany, 14.3 per cent.

The top airlines were Air Malta (56% of passengers) followed by Ryanair and EasyJet at 15% and 5% respectively.

There was a drop of 33 per cent in charter traffic last year and a further drop is expected this year because of changes in passenger trends and increasing use of low cost airlines.

The CEO said that after the Christmas Day bombing attempt in Detroit, MIA had looked at improving security, including a change in the procedures for passenger checks. MIA was and remains within international security requirements.

When he spoke on commercial activities, Mr Jaeger said that following the recent extension of the terminal building, MIA was now revamping the food court to give it a more Maltese feel.

Mepa last week also issued permits for the building of a business centre which is to be completed by the second half of next year.